You're Like Coming Home

26.

"Can we go now?" Derek asked Michael anxiously a couple hours later, after the presents had all been opened and the wrapping paper cleaned up.

"Go?" Meredith frowned. "Go where?"

Derek ignored her as he stared at his father, anxiously awaiting an answer.

"It's earlier than usual, Derek," Michael said with a laugh. "Why do you want to go now?"

"I want to show Mer," Derek said. "Please?"

Michael glanced at Emma, who shrugged, then said, "Alright everyone, we're leaving in half an hour. Get dressed, bring your presents upstairs, and meet back down here."

Derek grabbed Meredith's hand and pulled her towards the stairs, a grin taking over his face. "Derek?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"You'll see," he said as he pulled her into his room and closed the door behind them. "Dress warmly, you're going to need it."

Meredith frowned as she pulled a pair of jeans and a thick sweater out of one of the drawers Derek had cleared out for her. "Seriously, Derek, I'm not sure I'm okay with this super secret...whatever."

He laughed as he pulled a sweater on and moved over to her. "Shepherd family Christmas tradition," he said. "You'll like it."

"Okay," Meredith said dubiously. "But for the record...I hate surprises."

"I know," Derek laughed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "But so far, you've been pretty accepting of all of them."

She frowned as he pulled her back down the stairs, grinning when he saw his father entering the house, followed closely by Mark. "Is everything all set?" he asked.

"Sure is," Michael nodded. "Just waiting on your sisters."

Derek rolled his eyes and turned to the stairs. "We're leaving in two minutes, no matter who's ready!" he shouted.

"Derek!" Emma rolled her eyes as she came down the stairs. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous," Derek said. "I'm just excited."

"For what?" Meredith asked Emma, in hopes that she could elicit an actual response.

Emma laughed as she reached out to hug Meredith. "Nice try, dear," she said. "But I know Derek wants to surprise you with this."

Meredith sighed as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, a pout on her face. "Fine."

"Come on, Mer," Derek laughed, reaching for her hand. "We can go ahead of everyone else. Since the girls won't be ready until after New Year's."

"Stop being melodramatic, Derek," Emma said with a smile. "But you and Meredith can go ahead if you want to."

"Let's go," Derek said, pulling her out the door and towards the car. "Come on, Mer, you're going to love this."

She sighed as she looked out the window, watching as he drove down the road until the houses became more sparse and eventually disappeared. He parked in front of a huge clearing, covered in clean white powder, a frozen lake next to the clearing. "This is it," he said with a smile. "Every Christmas, we come out here and go sledding. Sometimes we ice skate too, but the ice isn't always thick enough."

"Oh," Meredith breathed, looking out over the perfectly untouched snow. "It's beautiful, Der."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, allowing himself to remember exactly how he was feeling in this perfect moment. "I wanted to show this to you," he whispered. "Before the family gets here and everything gets crazy. Because it's one of my favorite places in the world and I just...I needed you to see it."